Another year has come and gone, and so has a variety of fashion trends. Color blocking, colored jeans, and animal print stuck around for another year while other trends were out the door as soon as the ball dropped.

How could you not love bright lipstick, leather and lace, or a good top knot? The studs, half shaved heads, and cropped tops on the other hand, I could do without. Here are my top 5 picks for the worst fashion trends of 2012.

Neon. Electric pinks, blues, greens, and yellows stood out this past year and even high-end designers like Christian Louboutin got in on the trend. Personally, I think most neons just look cheap–and don’t even get me started about color blocking neons. You could stop traffic with some of these bright pink and blue color combos. Substitute neon with other it-colors like oxblood, purple, emerald, or mustard.

Harem Pants from Zara

Trousers and Harem Pants. I remember having a pair of these in elementary school. They were black (with little white somethings on them) and I wore it with a vest. It was pretty cute back then but 15 years later and I’m over it. Oftentimes these trousers have repeating patterns (another trend of 2012) and are usually wore with heels. Trade trousers for leather skinnies or colored cords.

Crushed Velvet Midi Dress at Nordstrom

Velvet. When I think of luxurious fabrics velvet is not the first thing that comes to mind. Velvet, like trousers, reminds me of elementary school–more specifically the red and green Christmas dresses my mom made my sister and I wear when we were little. I now associate velvet with itchy and hot. That being said, I’m clearly not running to the store to pick up myself some velvet pants…or anything velvet for that matter. Substitute velvet for 2012’s other popular fabrics: leather or lace.

Platforms. While I’m not a huge hater of the wedge sneaker (because I’ve recently saw a couple pairs of cute ones) I don’t like platforms. I’m not talking about a subtle platform though, I mean the ones where your toes are at least 3 inches off the ground. No matter how cool they were are, you’re not a Spice Girl. A better fashion choice would be to swap the platforms for a cute pair of wedges.

Lily White Skirt at Macy’s

Mullet Skirts and Dress (aka the high-low trend). When’s the last time you saw someone wearing one of these and thought, those make her legs look great. Never? Sure it’s easy to wear but it won’t win you any fashion awards. Why wear something that’s just okay when you can wear something that’ll really make you stand out? Trade the mullet skirt for a maxi dress or the always chic pencil skirt.